


All they have

by Nival_Vixen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Children adjust easier than adults, Children of Characters, Complete, Derek Likes Stiles, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Protective Derek, Single Parent Derek, Single Parent Stiles, Single Parents, Stiles Likes Derek, Trans Character, Trans child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 08:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2222490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Single dads AU where Derek and Stiles meet because Derek’s daughter and Stiles’ trans son become friends at school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All they have

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this picture and prompt](http://nivalvixen.tumblr.com/post/96132920982/berry-muffin-sterek-week-friday-sterek-au) on Tumblr

Alex used to be Alexandra, but one morning, Alexandra turned up to school with short spiked hair, pants and a shirt, the dresses, skirts and long hair now gone. Alexandra told everyone that she was a he now, that he wanted to be called Alex, and then he sat down at his desk and pulled out his pencils and notebook. Most of the children didn’t mind and just took out their things as well, a few wanted to ask questions, but their teacher paled and pulled Alex out of the classroom. The teachers called an emergency meeting, called Alex’s father in, and demanded an explanation.

Alex didn’t have many friends to start with, always seeming to be causing trouble or getting into it (the glitter pot was no longer allowed within a two-metre radius of Alex’s table during art and crafts time), but he always managed to coerce the other children to play with him at lunch, and Alex was never really alone. That first day was different, the others in his class realising that something was wrong if their teacher had responded like that, and for the first time in a long time, Alex sat alone. Clare didn’t understand why everyone was so upset about it, but she’d already promised Tammy that she’d play with her today, so she put aside her worry for an hour and played on the swings with Tammy.

Later that afternoon, Alex was taken home by his father, who was muttering an awful lot of bad words under his breath about the school, the teachers, and things that weren’t any of their business. Clare didn’t know a lot of the words that Mr. Stilinski said (her daddy had said some of those words when he hit his hand with a hammer last summer), but she knew that Alex was in trouble for wanting to be Alex, and that made her angry all over again.

By the time her daddy came to pick her up, Clare was in a  _really bad mood_. She’d spilled paint on her skirt, her artwork was awful, and Tammy had stolen her absolutely favourite pencil and refused to give it back.

"Are you all right, Clare-bear?" her daddy asked softly, watching as she put her seatbelt on with the biggest frown on her face as he’d ever seen on his usually sunny-smiled child.

Clare immediately burst into tears. She spent the drive home sobbing that  _it wasn’t fair, Alexandra just wanted to be Alex now, and he’d sat alone at lunch for the first time in **forever,** and why did the teachers have to be mean to him just because he didn’t want to wear dresses anymore? Would they be mean to her too if she didn’t want wear a dress?_

Derek carried Clare into the house, his daughter exhausted from her outburst and tears, and changed her into her pyjamas carefully before tucking her into bed gently. He brushed her hair back from her face, unclipped her hair clips, and wondered what he would do if he was in Alex’s father’s position. If Clare felt that she was a boy instead of a girl, Derek would probably go out of his way to make sure that his child was happy and felt accepted. The school’s response was just ridiculous, and even though Derek thought that maybe Alex’s father should have informed them first, he could also understand that he was probably trying to make Alex comfortable and make him see that him being a boy wasn’t an issue. Derek sighed and wondered if he could do anything to help Alex and his father; not all of the parents in Beacon Hills were exactly welcoming to things they didn’t understand.

…

 

The next morning, Derek knocked on Clare’s door gently, asking if she was okay. She usually didn’t take so long to get ready for school, and he hoped that she was all right after yesterday. Clare didn’t exactly respond verbally, kind of making an annoyed sound in response, and Derek risked opening her door to see… a complete and utter mess. Every single piece of clothing Clare owned was seemingly strewn across her room.

"I can’t find my pants, Daddy!" she cried, face going a little red with her annoyance.

"We put them away with your winter clothes, Clare-bear. I’ll get them for you," Derek promised, going to his room to find the bag of Clare’s winter clothes. She followed him, watching seriously as he pulled out all of her pants one by one.

"Not those! I want the blue ones, Daddy. I want to wear my blue shirt with the flowers," Clare said firmly.

"All right. These ones?" Derek asked, spying the blue material and pulling them out.

"Yes! Thank you, Daddy!" Clare said, hugging him and pressing a kiss to his cheek before running back to her room.

Derek looked at the clothes piled on his bed and sighed, deciding to put them away after he’d taken Clare to school.

"Daddy? I’ve decided to be Alex’s best friend," Clare announced once they were both in the car.

"All right. I thought you were Tammy’s best friend?" Derek asked, trying not to hit a land mine in what was obviously a dangerous conversation.

"She stole my pencil. Besides, you can have more than one best friend. You have Aunt Erica, Uncle Boyd,  _and_  Uncle Isaac!” Clare said hotly.

"You’re right, I do," Derek said with a chuckle, Clare’s face settling into a smile. "You need to ask Alex if he wants to be your friend, though, okay? You can’t force your friendship on someone, understand, Clare-bear?"

Clare rolled her eyes at Derek as if to say ‘ _well, duh!_ ' and he hid his grin, pulling into the school's drop-off zone.

"Want me to walk you inside?" Derek asked, grinning outright now because he knew her answer off by heart.

"No, Daddy! I’m big enough to walk on my own. All of the other kids walk on their own!" Clare protested immediately.

"All right, Clare-bear. Have a good day."

"Daddy? Alex is over there with his daddy!" Clare said, pointing over to them.

Derek looked where she was pointing and saw a young boy in a hoodie clinging to his father’s back, the man’s arms wrapped back to hold him up firmly with a backpack hanging off the crook of his arm.

"Looks like Alex is getting walked inside," Derek said, smiling briefly.

"He’s getting piggy-backed! You didn’t offer piggy-backs," Clare muttered.

A car horn blasted them from behind and Derek waved sarcastically, so tempted to give the rushed parent his middle finger instead.

"Bye, Daddy! Love you," Clare said, climbing out of the car, putting her backpack on, and running up to the school building.

Derek lingered to piss off the car behind him, waiting until Clare was inside before driving away. He hoped Clare and Alex would be friends, honestly. Tammy was a nice enough child, but her mother always hit on him because they were the only two single parents at parties, and he was getting tired of turning her down politely. Maybe if Alex’s father was there, she wouldn’t focus so much of her attention on him.

…

Clare started talking as soon as she was in the car, and she was so excited that it took Derek a few seconds to catch up.

"Alex and Tammy are  _both_  my best friends now, and Tammy gave me back my pencil ‘cause her mummy told her off for stealing it, and Alex let me borrow his hoodie and it was warm and comfy, and I’d like a hoodie for my birthday please, Daddy. Also, I want a pirate and dragons party, ‘cause we played dragons today and I was the captain of the ship, and Alex was the dragon, and I got to sword fight Tammy to see who’d keep the dragon, and I won!”

Derek grinned as she continued to detail her entire day, and wondered if Alex was doing the same to his father.

"We’ll make up invitations for your birthday party tonight, how about that, Clare-bear?" he asked when she finally stopped talking.

"Can you draw a dragon on them?" she asked, eyes bright and wide.

"I’ll definitely try," Derek promised, smiling at her.

Clare did her homework at the kitchen table, helped Derek make dinner, and as soon as he had finished washing the dishes, Clare took Derek’s hand and pulled him down to their spare room where Derek’s supplies were kept. He usually created logos and graphics for businesses, but he also made a tidy profit on paintings he sold at the local art gallery. (If Derek was more technology-savvy, he would have tried to sell them online as a few people had suggested.) Still, he enjoyed all mediums of art, and it was under Clare’s watchful and critical eye that he spent the rest of the night creating a dragon-themed birthday invitation. It was an hour after her bedtime by the time they were both satisfied with the final product, and Derek promised to have the invitations photocopied so she could write her classmates’ names and hand them out by the end of the week.

…

Derek pulled up to the school and Clare looked out to the crowd of students with a slight frown. Her frown disappeared when she saw Alex, being piggy-backed by his daddy again, and she grinned broadly.

"Want me to piggy-back you in, Clare-bear?" Derek offered, grinning.

"Yes, please!" she cried, clambering out of the car quickly.

Derek ignores the cars behind him - they can wait, his baby girl wants him to walk her to class for the first time since her first week of school - and gets out of the car, walking around to scoop her up in her arms. Clare giggles against his chest.

"Hey, Clare! Da, that way! Mush, mush!" Alex cried out, legs wiggling in his father’s embrace to direct him to Clare and Derek.

"What did I say about kicking, Alex?"

"It hurts you?"

"Yeah, and you know what you have to do to a horse when it’s hurt?"

Alex laughs in his daddy’s ear. “You’re silly, Da.”

"Yeah? Well,  _you’re sillier_. Now, who’s this young lady? Clare or Tammy?”

"That’s Clare, Da. I told you Clare had pretty hair, ‘member?"

"That you did, silly me," he replied seriously, then winked at Derek. "And you are?"

"Derek, Clare’s father," he replied. "You’re Alex’s father?"

"Yep! Stiles Stilinski. I’d offer my hand, but it’s busy holding up my little bug."

"Alex isn’t a bug! He’s a  _dragon_ ,” Clare replied, smiling up at Alex.

Alex grinned back at her, a tooth missing from his mouth, and Stiles seemed amused at Clare’s response.

"Oh, my apologies! I didn’t know you’d evolved, son. Why didn’t you tell me?" Stiles asked over his shoulder.

A car’s horn went off, and Stiles glared over at them. His expression softened as he looked at Derek with Clare still sitting in the crook of his large arms. “You coming, big guy?” he asked, smiling.

"Uh, yeah," Derek said quickly, unable to stop himself from looking at Stiles’ mouth, a blush fighting to the surface.

"C’mon, Da, we’re going to be late. You have to walk faster than this," Alex groaned, tugging on Stiles’ sleeves.

"I can’t; I’ve got a  _dragon_  on my back now. Do you know how heavy dragons are?” Stiles asked, taking exaggerated steps.

Clare giggled, and grinning himself, Derek grabbed her school bag before he lifted her up onto his shoulders and followed Stiles and Alex.

The teacher saw Stiles and glared slightly, but her expression changed to surprised when she saw Derek and Clare.

"Mr. Hale, I… I didn’t know you were coming up to the class this morning," she said, looking flustered.

Beside him, Stiles covered his laugh with a cough.

"Good morning, Mrs. Dean," he said with a brief nod, setting Clare’s bag down before lifting her up, Clare letting out a squeal of laughter as he put her on her feet carefully.

"Thanks, Daddy! Have a good day, and don’t forget my invitations!" Clare said, slipping her bag on and giving Derek a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Of course not, can’t forget my favourite daughter’s birthday," Derek said, grinning.

"I’m your  _only_  daughter, Daddy!” Clare said crossly.

"You ready to go, kid?" Stiles asked Alex.

Alex took a moment to think, looking at Mrs. Dean’s expression before giving a firm nod. Mrs. Dean headed into the classroom when she realised she wouldn’t get Derek’s attention. When Stiles set Alex down, Clare took Alex’s hand and grinned.

"C’mon, Alex. We’ve got art and craft first, and I need your help drawing a dragon like my Daddy did," she said.

"Does it have glitter?" Alex asked, perking up.

"Yes. Gold glitter," Clare said decisively.

Stiles let out a small groan. “Alex is going to have glitter in his hair tonight, I just know it.”

"Clare’ll be the same," Derek admitted with a chuckle.

Stiles grinned at him, and they both headed back out to their cars. They both seemed to end up at Derek’s car, and he took a moment to notice that the other cars that had been lined up behind his had obviously got impatient and overtaken him, because his Toyota and Stiles’ Jeep were the only vehicles left at the drop-off zone.

"Okay, this might seem a bit forward of me, but I couldn’t flirt very well even before Alex came along, so… Do you want to have dinner with me some time?" Stiles asked quickly, looking hopeful.

"How about lunch today? I work from home, so I’ve got the day to myself."

"Hell yes," Stiles said, pressing his lips to Derek’s firmly.

Derek rested his hands on Stiles’ hips, his thumbs stroking Stiles’ skin under his shirt.

"Oh,  _fuck_. I’m too old to come in my jeans, but I swear I’m about to. How about brunch?” Stiles groaned.

"Okay. Follow me in your car," Derek breathed softly.

Stiles pressed another kiss to Derek’s lips and almost tripped over his own feet to get back to his Jeep.

They didn’t end up eating until 2pm.

Later, Derek discovered that Stiles was a computer programmer, worked from home, and had a printer big enough to photocopy Clare’s invitation that day without a problem. Stiles spent about an hour looking at the various works of art Derek had through his house, chuckling at Clare’s drawings of wolves that she’d obviously tried to imitate in her father’s style, and they spent the afternoon talking about their children, and themselves, their worries and fears; how Stiles missed his father, how he was terrified that Alex would be bullied now that he wanted to be Alex, how Derek worried that Clare’s mother might try to get her back despite giving him full custody after their divorce four years ago. By the end of the day, they were both sure what they had was more than lust.

…

At Clare’s birthday party, Tammy’s mother didn’t get a chance to hit on Derek, because Stiles’ arm was curled around his waist possessively and he glared any time she tried to approach them. Derek just laughed into the crook of Stiles’ shoulder.

“ _She’s still a girl, no matter what that father of hers makes her wear._ ”

The words were loud enough to be heard by all of the parents across the lounge room, and they all went quiet. Stiles gritted his teeth and looked around to make sure Alex hadn’t heard; he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that complete strangers thought they could have an opinion on the way he raised  _his son_. Derek on the other hand, firmly guided the woman outside, coming close to pushing her out the door itself.

"Thomas has absolutely no issue with the fact that Alex wants to be a boy; perhaps you should take some lessons from your six-year-old child. Come back when the party’s over, and don’t you **dare**  talk about Alex or Stiles like that again, do you understand me?”

The woman nodded, face flushed red in anger and embarrassment, and Derek shut the door in her face.

"Does anyone else have any comments about the way Stiles is raising  _his son?_ " Derek growled when he went back into the lounge room.

Stiles was outside now, pirate hat on his head as he tried to fight the large cardboard dragon. The children roared, led by Clare, Alex, and Tammy, and overwhelmed him quickly, tiny bodies piled on top of him as they laughed and fought the fallen pirate.

The gathered parents didn’t reply, none of them able to look Derek in the eye, and he felt absolutely disgusted by them.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Look at those children! All of them are happy and laughing, and if they’re happy, then I don’t see what the hell your problem is! Alex is not your child, you are not his parents, and anything you  _think_  you have to say about his upbringing should be kept to yourself! Those five- and six-year-olds are more accepting than you are, and if you can’t get over the fact that a little girl wants to be a little boy, then you can get the fuck out of my house right now. I’ll not stand for this negative behaviour, and if you were in Stiles position, you should be just as accepting of your own child as he has been.”

The doorbell rang, loudly and obnoxiously, and there was only one person he knew that rang the doorbell like that. Clare recognised the ring as well, and she let out a squeal of excitement, running inside to open the front door, bypassing the tension in the lounge room easily.

"Aunt Erica! Uncle Boyd! Uncle Isaac!"

"Happy birthday, Clare! C’mere, I need a hug from my favourite small person," Erica said, dropping down to pull Clare in close.

Clare giggled in her embrace then somehow managed to grab all three adults’ hands and pull them into the lounge room.

"Daddy and Stiles bought hats for everyone. You get to be pirates too!"

"That’s great, Clare-bear. Do we have swords, too?" Isaac asked, trying to breathe at the tension he felt in the air, guiding her back outside after he accepted the pirate hat.

"Of course; we have to fight each other to win the dragon!"

"So, wanna catch us up, Der?" Erica asked, tugging Boyd over to the vacant seat and sitting in his lap, smiling at the parents in a way that made them uncomfortable.

"It seems a few of these parents have an issue with the fact Alex is now Alex."

Erica frowned, blinking, and then looked between Derek and the parents. “Why? Did any of you suddenly adopt Alex?”

"No."

"Right, not seeing the issue here. Alex is an awesome kid, and if he wants to be a boy, that’s his choice. Get the fuck out if you think otherwise. Like, seriously.  _Out._   **Now!** " Erica snarled, and a few parents left quickly. "Anyone else? Good. Now, what’s the food like, Der? I need finger food like five minutes ago."

"That’s up to Clare; I think she’s still fighting for the dragon."

"Fighting  _for_  it?”

"The dragon goes to whoever wins the fight, Clare said, so they’re fighting each other for it," Derek replied, heading to the back porch to ask his daughter about lunch.

"Hey, Boyd? I think I want that dragon. Wanna fight for it?" Erica asked.

"We’ve got nowhere to put something that big, Erica," Boyd pointed out.

"That’s not stopping Isaac," Erica replied with a snort, seeing their curly-haired friend wearing an eyepatch and fighting at least four children, dying dramatically when one stabbed his side. "I’ll get him to make a smaller version for us then," she added firmly.

"Clare says I can serve lunch up. Table’s set up outside," Derek said over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen.

Erica led the way, pulling Boyd along with her, and the parents followed quietly. Derek sighed, hands trembling as the rush of adrenaline slowly left his body. He’d only been with Stiles for a month, but he hated that people were treating him like this. Alex was an amazing kid, and he didn’t deserve to be hurt. Neither of them did.

"Daddy?" Clare called, coming into the kitchen.

He smiled over at her quickly, and pulled her up into his arms for a hug and kiss. “How’s your birthday party, Clare-bear?”

"Best party ever," Clare said, grinning. "Daddy, Stiles wants to know if he can help with lunch?"

"I might need help carrying out all of these plates," Derek admitted, looking to the various platters on the kitchen bench.

"Good thing I brought another set of hands with me then," Stiles said with a chuckle, Alex on his back. "You ready to carry plates, little guy?"

"Yes! I want the plate with the mini hotdogs!" Alex said, grinning.

Clare giggled, grabbing her father’s hand in both of hers. “I want the bowl of chips please, Daddy!”

"What do you want, Stiles?" Derek asked, smiling at him.

Stiles smiled back and leaned in close. “A kiss,” he murmured, kissing Derek lightly.

“ _Gross_ , Daddy,” Clare squealed.

"Oh, really?" Derek asked, kissing Clare over her face and making her laugh in his arms.

He put her down and handed her the requested bowl, as Stiles gave the plate to Alex. They waited until both children were outside before turning to each other again, Stiles grinning at him.

"How long can we make out in here before someone comes looking?" he joked.

"Not long at all, sorry. I need food more than I need to see you two making out on the coleslaw," Erica quipped from the doorway, smirking.

Derek groaned, resting his head on Stiles’ shoulder as Stiles laughed.

"The parents have all settled down; they’re commiserating about  _Frozen_  now, and how many times they’ve been forced to listen to the CD. I think they’re all lying and they loved it though, ‘cause I heard one of them humming  _Let it go_  earlier,” Erica said with a chuckle, grabbing two plates. “Bring the food out, then come back for drinks; no one will realise you’ve already got drinks out for at least ten minutes,” she added, smirking.

"I like the way you think," Stiles said with a wink, grabbing two plates and holding a third precariously.

Derek followed them out with the final four plates, not even bothering to sit down before saying something about drinks, practically dragging Stiles back inside with him. Stiles laughed softly in his embrace, and Derek kissed him hotly, turning his laughter into soft noises of need instead.

The party finished a few hours later, the cardboard dragon taken home by an excited child (their parents looked a bit concerned as to how they would transport it home, but Derek helped them tie it to the roof of their car), everyone leaving with tired children and filled goodie bags.

While Clare and Alex watched Frozen, Derek went out to the porch with Stiles, sitting on the padded seat and pulling Stiles onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him. Stiles sighed, leaning his head back to rest on Derek’s shoulder. Derek pressed a kiss to Stiles’ neck, rubbing his stubbled cheek against his skin and making him shiver in delight.

"Thank you for today, Derek," Stiles murmured, and Derek knew he meant more than the birthday party.

"You’re welcome, Stiles," Derek replied, meaning more than those three words.

By the time they went back inside, both Clare and Alex were singing  _Let it go_  at the top of their lungs. Derek chuckled as he sat beside Clare, singing along with them. Stiles joined in, cuddling next to his son on the lounge, and their small family watched the movie together for the rest of the night.

…

The end.

Thanks for reading; hope you liked it!


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